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■Uhe RURAL NEW-YORKER 
The Rural New-Yorker 
THE BUSINESS FARMER'S PAPER 
A Xailonal Weekly Journal for Country cml tiubiirban Ilomen 
Established iSjO 
rnblUbed weekly by the Kural I'ubliRbin; Compiiny, 23<t H'eltt 30tb Street, Sew fork 
Hekbkrt AV. CobUSGwooD, I’reKident and Editor. 
Jobs J. Dii,1/OK, Tre,'surer and (icneral Manairer. 
Wm. F. Secretary. Mits. E. T. Koylk. Atssociatc Editor. 
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Entered at New York I’ost Olllce as Second Cla-ss Matter. 
Advertisintf rate®, 75 cents per atrate line—7 words. References required for 
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“A SQUARE DEAL” 
We Ijelieve that every advertisement in this paper Is backed by a respon- 
sibie person. We use evcr.v itossible precaution and admit the advertising of 
reliable houses only. But to make doubly sure, we will make good any loss 
to paid subfwribers sustained by trusting any deliberate swindler, irrespon¬ 
sible a<lyerti 8 er 8 or misleading advertisements in our columns, and any 
such swindler will be publicly exposed. AVe are also often called upon 
to adjust differences or mistakes between our mibscribers and honest, 
responsible houses, whether ativertisers or not. We willingly use our good 
ollices to this end. but such cases should not be confused with dishonest 
transactions. We pi’otect subscribers against rogues, but we will not be 
i^sponsible for the debts of honest bankrupts sanctioned by the courts. 
Notice of the complaint must be sent to us within one month of the time of 
the transaction, and to iilentify it, you should mention The Rdral New- 
Yorker when writing the advertiser. 
T ins jiropo.sition of saA'iiig for bread-making the 
grain now used in making intoxicating liquor 
has taken right hold of the public. Congress will 
undoubtedly frame some sort of a law for .saving 
this waste. Why not? Can anyone gi\’e a single 
economic roa.son why, when a good share of the 
world is Avorrying over the future food supply, 
great quantities of bread-making material .should be 
made into “booze”? The liquor dealers usually .say 
that temperance advocate.s are fanatic.s with un¬ 
reasonable arguments. Yet, Avhat could be more 
reasonable than the economic argument for the 
u.se of gi’ain for bread-making with famine in sight? 
* 
W E go right on record a.s saying that this is no 
j’our for plunging on neAV or untried crop.s. 
Our advice to the Eastern farmer is to leaA’e 
speltz, Spring wheat and other new grains alone, 
and stick to oats and peas, barley, buckwheat and 
corn for grain. A man does be.st Avith the things 
he knows most about. Another thing. Do not 
think it necessary to double your acreage in order 
to increase your crop. We shall all make more by 
giving better care to what Ave plant. Two acres 
of corn Avell cultivated and kept clean will give 
more than three acres partly neglected. 
* 
T he Interstate Commerce Commission has de¬ 
creed that the “permit” system for the shipment 
of hay is Avrong in principle, unreasonable, and un¬ 
justly discriminatin.g. An order has been issued re¬ 
quiring the railroad company to discontinue the un¬ 
lawful practice. Under the system no one could 
ship a car of hay until he received a peiTuit from 
the railroad through a dealer to do so. The rail¬ 
road issued permits on the basis of the number of 
shipments made the year previous. The small deal¬ 
er must always remain small and the big one 
might grow bigger. The farm shipper was hardly 
considered. The principle of the permit .system is 
entirely familiar and peculiar to large corporations. 
The railroads still contend with congested tracks 
and terminal yards and still refuse to permit the 
auction system of sales as desired by the I'lepart- 
ment of Foods and ^Markets, Avhicli would promptly 
relieve the congestion. 
* 
T housands of farmers Avill plow under cover 
crops this year—to help out the suppl.Y of sta¬ 
ble manure. No cultivated land should be left bare 
tlirougli the Winter, for the cover crop not only 
saves and gains plant food but it supplies organic 
matter. Noav when should the cover crop be plowed 
under in order to prove most economical? Most 
farmers seem to think they should let the clover or 
rye grow until it is quite mature before plOAving 
it under. Tliey usually figure that in this way they 
get more hulk to go into the soil. So they do, but 
this often means that the soil is pumped dry of 
moi.sture and in a dry time it is almost imiKis.sible to 
fit such soil properly. There are three ways of 
handling the coA’^er crop. One is to plow under 
before or just at the blooming time, when the soil 
is u'^ually moist. Another is to mow the crop just 
after bloom and let it lie on top of the ground 
aAvhile before plowing. The last and usual Avay is 
to lot the crop mature and then plow. The Mary¬ 
land Station has conducted several experiments to 
test out these three methods. These experiments 
AAcre with Crimson clover and on the average the 
early ploAved crop did the best. The poorest re¬ 
sults Avere obtained when the crop was left to 
mature before plowin.g. Our experience with rye 
and other crops has been about the same, and we 
think it pays best to put the crop under usually 
before blooming. Few people realize Avhat a vast 
amount of Avater these green crops Avill suck out of 
the soil during the last fcAV Aveeks of growth. Get 
the cover crop under early. If yon cannot, mow it 
and let it lie on the ground before it dries out the 
.soil. 
* 
M .VNT poultrymen have a rocky road ahead. 
We do not mean the farmers who keep a 
fair-.sized flock and let the birds range over the 
farm. They probably haA'e a better chance this 
j’ear than CA'er before, since meat will be high, and 
it does not cost much to feed such flocks through 
the Summer. We refer to the “commercial” poul¬ 
try plants where the birds are confined and Avliere 
feed must be bought. Grain prices have increased 
far above any gain in price of meat or eggs, and 
it seems impossible to cut doAvn the cost of the hen’s 
food. Yet we need more eggs and more poultry. 
The coming season will put the acid test upon 
many a hen plant. Personally, we do not think 
there ever was a time when the business hen man 
had a better future—if he have the capital, the 
patience and the courage to face temporary loss. 
It will be like going again.st the grain to face the 
grain market, and hundreds will be forced out of 
business, but those who hang on, cull out the drones 
and put the best they have into their business AVill 
win out. There will surely come a time when grain 
will be cheaper, and it Avill take at least two years 
to reviA'e the flocks Avhich are noAV being scattered 
and sold. Then the man with a good outfit will get 
his reward. 
* 
W E know better than to tiy to tell our read¬ 
ers what they ought to do in the present 
“food crisi.s,” for they know their dut.v lietter than 
Ave do, and they al.so knoAv hoAv far they can go to 
increase production. The letters printed on page 
044 fairl.v repre.sent the feeling among our Eastern 
farmers. They are loyal and true. They are far 
more Avilling to make sacrifice than any other 
class, for they have been for years making such sac¬ 
rifices and doing more than their share. They are 
not to be moA'ed by flag-Avaving and violent appeals 
—and that is a good thing for the conntr.A', since 
noAA% if CA'er, should cool judgment and hard- 
headed common sense prevail. Looking to the fu¬ 
ture. it is hard to think of a Avorse thing for the 
country than to have our farmers rush in, Avithout 
thought, borrow money freely and plant every field 
in sight, with no assurance of competent labor to 
cultivate and harvest, and no guarantee of a living 
price. No other interest is a.sked to do that, and 
we knoAv the farmers too well to believe they can be 
indneed to do it. With any lair guaj’antee that 
they Avill be protected in the market the farmers 
Avill do their part. It is late for bread crops ex¬ 
cept corn and buckwheat, but give the farmers as 
fair a chance as the manufacturer and the transpor¬ 
tation interests, and the nation need not worry 
about food. 
* 
T he past feAA' weeks have brought a flood of 
letters from backyard gardeners Avlio want to 
keep a cow or a fcAv pigs. These people usually 
have had no expeiaence in keeping livestock, but 
they think they can make milk or meat at a profit 
Avhile buying all hay and grain. It is hard for 
most toAvu people to believe that farming or stock- 
keeping really requires brains or experience. Take a 
man who never fed or milked a coav. He pays a 
high price for some reject from a dairy, buys all 
hay and grain and does the milking himself. Ilis 
milk AA'oiild cost him far more than he pays at re¬ 
tail and the coav Avould steadily decrease in A’alue. 
The pig feeder would do better if he had a garden 
and could feed Avastes, «and cA'cn Avith grain at 
present prices, he might come out even. The 
chances are against the succe.ss of such enterprises 
and AA’e do not encourage them. About the Avisest 
thing for the backyard gardener is to try to 
raise such green vegetables as he needs and to can 
the surplus peas, beans and tomatoes. The best 
livestock to go with such gardening is a small flock 
of one of the quiet American breeds of hens. These 
birds will stand confinement Avell, make good use 
of the garden Avastes and provide eggs and meat. 
Far better for the man Avith a small garden to 
work in this Avay than to plunge into dairying or 
pig feeding. The thing for all of us to do is to try 
to be efficient—not “smart.” No one can be effi¬ 
cient when he gets outside of the job he knows 
most about. 
A mong other things which this Avar Avill em¬ 
ploy to revolutionize farming are the motor 
truck and the tractor. The truck will bring dis¬ 
tant farms closer to market by giving quick trans¬ 
portation. This Avill increase the demand for good 
roads. It Avill also induce farmei's to get together 
for cooperative shipping, r.nd this must mean bet¬ 
May 5, 1917. 
ter packing and standard goods. One thing leads to 
another, and the use of the truck Avill upset many 
of the old ideas of individual marketing. The 
changes will come in such a Avay that we shall 
hardly realize them. As for the tractor, as it is 
developed so that it comes to be more a substitute 
for three' good farm horses it will do great things 
for the 100 or 150-acre farmer or for smaller farms 
Avhich can have the line fences taken out. In Eng¬ 
land the government has several hundred tractors 
at work—going from place to place, plowing and 
harroAving for farmers at cost. If the Avar is to 
continue one of the best things our government 
can do will be to place tractors here and there in 
hundreds of communities AV'here there is idle land, 
and AA’here farmers do not keep extra ploAv teams. 
In this Avay thousands of acres could be put into 
grain this Fall, and after such a practical demon- 
sti-ation many farmers would see the practical 
value of the tractors and make u.se of them. Right 
in our OAvn neighborhood (Avhich is no longer a 
purely farming section) a good-sized boy or a man 
])ast middle age could, with a light tractor, break 
up and fit enough small fields to produce 2,00t) 
bu.shels of grain—using the tractor as power for 
plowing, fitting, .seeding, harvesting, thrashing and 
hauling. The tractor means increased power in 
tlie hands of the boy or the elderly man, and this 
concentration of power will help to keep them both 
on the farm. 
T he Agricultural Department has spent large 
sums of money in sending agents all over the 
Avorld after new and useful plants. In this way 
some new fruits and forage plants have been found 
that promise to be very useful. We think that right 
in the AA’Oods and AA'ild places of this country may 
be found many rare and superior fruits and nuts 
Avhieh Avould be regarded as Avonderful if they 
could be found and propagated. The great Avork 
done by Miss Elizabeth White in hunting out su¬ 
perior varieties of blueberries illustrates what Ave 
have in mind. We must I’emember that most of the 
great commercial varieties of American apples Avere 
accidentally found as chance .seedlings. There are 
many more of them now groAving in the wild places. 
There ought to be an organized hunt for them and 
we* intend to start it this season. “America first— 
for new A'arieties!” 
H ere is the record of the New York Senators 
who voted on the Wicks bill. Keep this list 
for reference—you may need it badly a little later: 
FOR 
Alden P. Brown, LponardsvUIe 
Daniel .T. Carroll, Brooklyn 
S. A. Ootello, New A'ork City 
E. J. Dowling, New York City 
J. J. Dunnigan, New A'ork City 
Janies A. Foley, New Y'ork 
-A. J. Gilchrist, Brooklyn 
AI. S. Halliday. Ithaca 
C. J. Hewitt, Locke 
John Knight, Arcade 
K. R. Lawson. Brooklyn 
N. Al. Marshall, Alalone 
C. P. AInrphy. New Y'ork 
Albert Otlinger, New York 
H. AI. Sage, Alenands 
O. A. Slater, Port Chester 
Geo. P. Thompson. Middleport 
R. F. Wagner. New A'ork 
Chas. W. Walton. Kingston 
Geo. H. AVhltney, Alee.iantcsville 
7 -v-fti, 
:e bill 
Elon R. Brown, Watertown 
AA'm. A. Carson, Rushvllle 
George Cromwell, Dongan Hills 
Bernard Downing, New York < 1 y 
James A. Emerson, AVarrenslmrg 
L. W. H. Gibbs, Buffalo 
Ross Graves, Brooklyn 
AA'. J. Hefferman, Brooklyn 
AVm. IT. Hill, Johnson (Uty 
Jacob Koenig, New York 
C. G. Lockwood. Brooklyn 
O. L. Mills, New York 
Chas. D. Newton, Geneseo 
Theodore D. Robinson, Alohawk 
.1. V. Shendan. New York 
John D. Stivers, Middletown 
G. L. Thompson, King's Park 
J. H. AValters, Syracu.se 
Geo. B. Wellington, Troy 
Chas. W. Wicks, Sauquoit 
n,' Schenectady 
AGAINST THE BILL 
Geo. P. Argetslnger. Rochester John J. Boylan, New Y'ork 
P. AI. Daly. New York John B. AluIIan, Roehe.sler 
S. J. Ramsperger, Buffalo James E. Towner, Townerj 
James J. AA’alkcr, New Y’ork 
Keep this list and see Avhat folloAvs. 
Brevities 
Set every broody hen you can. 
Many a don’t will save a due-bill. 
When you lose your temper you pass from fine 
steel to soft iron. 
.Tust Avhat is a fair yield of marketable ears from 
an acre of sweet corn? 
Noav they tell us a big growth of whiteweed or 
daisies indicates a sour soil. 
The hottest fighting in this war will be done by 
the soldiers who keep cool. 
We have had many letters from farmers Avho say 
they have never grown a crop of beans, but this year 
they will plant many acres. Better take it easy on 
lieans, and plant the crop you know most about. 
The latest scheme for fighting woodchucks we have 
beard of is to run a jet of steam at high pressure into 
the hole. All right, perhaps, but how do you get the 
steam up near the hole? 
We have not had the variety of plans for treating 
seed corn to repel crows which we expected. Nine- 
tenths of those who write .say they use tar Avith suc¬ 
cess. Some advise the use of kerosene poured over the 
seed. We hesitate to advise this. We should think it 
Avould kill or Aveakeu the seed. 
Those “Black Giant” chickens in NeAv .Jersey 
have attracted quite a little attention from the brief 
mention already given. It is not a I'egular breed 
yet. but the New .Jersey Experiment Station is in¬ 
terested in developing this strain. The Hope Farm 
man Avill try to enter a pen of the Black Giants at 
the next egg-laying contest. 
